


Rime

by demonsushi01



Series: Klance Trope Month 2k20 [16]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Keith (Voltron), Huddling For Warmth, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Well Cuddling but yknow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:33:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24229684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonsushi01/pseuds/demonsushi01
Summary: Day 16. Cuddling for WarmthOn a simple collection mission, a storm hits causing Lance and Keith to both be grounded planetside. The Black Lion isn't regulating heat properly and Lance suggests Keith come over. He then holds him and warms him back up.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Klance Trope Month 2k20 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727086
Comments: 8
Kudos: 148





	Rime

Keith wouldn’t exactly say he’s the best leader for the team. Especially not when he’s compared to Shiro. He taps the Black Lion’s joysticks as he guides the beast through the atmosphere of the planet they’re visiting. It’s a simple scavenging mission and yet he feels like he’s doing terribly. Most of the required materials they were supposed to have been able to get, they can’t due to the poor weather conditions on the planet. 

So it’s out of his control really. But it doesn’t make it any better. Hunk and Allura managed to get their items relatively easy, already having reported back from the castle. Pidge and Lance collected what they could of theirs and were in the process of heading back. Keith, however, is struggling. 

The Black Lion thrums in the back of his mind, he thinks it’s trying to be reassuring, but it comes off wrong. He can’t feel the connection between himself and Black the way he could, the way he _still_ can, with Red. It’s as if the Black Lion is speaking to him in another room with the door shut, muffled and distant. 

And the moments of clarity that come through are terrifying. It’s not the usual way the Lions speak, thoughts and ideas being fed to his mindspace or even the triggering of specific memories to convey them. These bursts of clarity are almost actual words of encouragement instead of the notion or idea of ones. They are nearly a physical sensation, a hand on his shoulder or rustling through his hair.

They’re disconcerting and certainly unwelcomed. They make him think of ghost stories and haunted places and liminal spaces. It fills the air in the cabin with a strange sensation that makes his skin itch. And when it happens he makes sure the comlinks are down so he can cuss whatever it is back to where it belongs. Like right now.

“Motherfucker, go _away_ .” He hisses. It smells like ozone and lightning and petrichor. “I’m not dealing with your shit today.” Keith jerks as he feels hands settle over his own and direct the lion towards the surface of the planet. _Nope_. He jerks, pulling his hands off and getting out of his seat.

“Fuck _off_.” He growls at the air but gets no response. The strange feeling is still there, patient as always. Black lands on the surface without his guidance and he’s quick to make his way to the exit, making sure his comlinks are back on. He grabs the hovering cart, containing plant samples and tools for collection.

“Check-in, how’s everyone doing?” He asks, his helmet dropping the full face mask as it registers the atmosphere before he even steps out.

“I’ve returned to the bridge, for the time being, helping Coran monitor for dangerous activity.” Allura chimes in first.

“Hunk?” His boots crunch the ground beneath him.

“He’s in the kitchen. He wanted to preserve some of the herbs before we put them away for storage.” 

“Lance and I just got back to the castle, we’re unloading as we speak,” Pidge informs him.

“Alright.” He pulls up his scanner and is definitely weirded out about how close the lion landed to the plant he needs to get.

“How about you number four?” Coran asks chipperly.

“I think I’m at the last available place for the… uh… flower thing.” 

“Achanyie.” He corrects.

“Yeah, that.” Keith follows his scanner, looking for the pink and purple flowers. It’s the end of their natural growing season apparently, and he’s been having quite a hard time finding good samples to collect. 

“Just remember, we need as much of the plant as possible.” 

“I know.” He sighs as he stops by a small section of them. They remind him of daisies if he’s being honest. 

He pulls out an empty collection bin and a spade and kneels by the patch. He digs them out carefully, trying to keep the roots intact. It’s painstakingly slow moving through the patch. Partly due to getting as much of the plants as possible, partly due to the ice and frost forming on the ground around them. 

“God, remind me I never want to collect flowers again.” He sighs.

“I mean, you could have gone with me and Pidge to get fruits.” Lance laughs. 

“No. No, you would have hated it.” Pidge groans. “If I had to hear _another_ melon joke…” 

“Exactly why Keith should have gone, he would’ve found it funny!”

“Doubtful,” Keith smirks and then laughs as Lance sputters and makes unintelligible words. He puts the full box on the cart and counts them over again. He just needs two more containers. 

He climbs back into the lion with the cart. His mask disengages as he makes his way to the cabin. The feeling has subsided for now and he hesitantly takes his seat again. He gets Black airborne once more, moving them a bit closer to one of the other nearby patches. 

Keith has barely stepped out of the lion when Coran’s voice cuts over the comlinks scaring the bejesus out of him.

“Just to let you know, it appears there is a storm moving into your area right now Keith.” 

“How bad?” He looks up at the sky but it doesn’t look any different. Thick white clouds above him cut off his view of the stars. He taps his visor and does see the temperature is dropping. 

“Rather bad, I’d advise you to come back to the castle and return when it clears. Hopefully, the remaining plants will survive.” 

“I’m almost done though.” He groans.

“Hey, I just finished unloading my stuff. I can come down there and help you out?” Lance offers.

“I don’t know if that --”

“Many hands make light work.” Lance cuts Coran off.

“Make it quick.” Keith grunts. His eyes fall closed and he reaches for the Red Lion in the back of his mind. He relaxes at the feel of its warmth at his back and he can tell when Lance gets into the pilot chair. He's also aware they’re breaking through the atmosphere quickly and shooting over to his direction.

“ETA?” Keith asks, opening his eyes.

“Less than a minute,” Lance promises.

“Good.” He hauls the cart out and starts to collect the flowers.

He looks up as Red comes to a stop in front of Black on the other side of the flower patch. Lance waves and jogs over, careful of the flowers.

“Here.” Keith passes him a container and a spade. “The ground is a bit icy so you might need more force than you’d think.” 

“No prob.” Lance winks and crouches down by the flowers. 

“How soon is that storm going to hit?” He asks Coran, kneeling and getting flowers as well.

“ -- now. You should see -- and then --” Keith frowns, glancing over at Lance who has a hand against his helmet.

“Coran? You’re cutting out.” 

“--lo? Pal-- me?” He picks up Allura’s concerned tone.

“Fuck,” Keith whispers. “Everyone stay on that ship. I repeat, _stay_ on the ship.” 

“Red didn’t pick up any electrical disturbances on our way in.” Lance points out.

“I don’t like this.” The temperature is still dropping according to the readout on his visor. He blinks as snow starts to fall, little flakes floating down. 

“It’s pretty.” Lance hums holding his hand out to catch a few of the flakes.

“Let’s try to move our lions to shield this patch from the storm,” Keith says, putting his stuff away.

“Sounds good, boss.” Lance passes him what he’d gathered, about half of a container and his spade. He gets up and hisses softly, glancing down at the source of pain. In the space between his shin guard and his knee pad, a wicked-looking plant has impaled itself through his suit. He pulls it off with his fingers but it tears the undersuit which is dangerous. It sticks to his hands and he has to scrape it off with his spade, tearing more holes into the undersuit. 

Keith is now more physically aware of how _cold_ it is with the suit compromised and unable to properly protect him from the environmental conditions. It also has him lightheaded due to the low levels of oxygen found on the planet. His helmet can only do so much, especially with the holes releasing what bit it was recycling for him. He moves quickly to the lion, dragging the cart behind him.

He’s busy locking it down inside his lion when he feels that _thing_ again. He shuts off his side of the comlink as he gets into the cabin.

“Can you just _not_ right now?” He groans at the air. He’s still a bit dizzy but he slides into the seat, gently nudging Black closer to the flowers and dropping its particle barrier. He looks out and can barely see the red glow of Lance’s barrier being dropped as well. The snow is coming in thickly now and he flicks his comlink back on.

“Lance? Can you hear me?”

“Yeah. Loud and clear. Maybe it’s because we’re closer to each other than the castle?” 

“I’m just glad to hear your voice.” He chuckles.

“How long do you think it’s going to last?” Lance asks. 

“I dunno.” He tries to hail the castle again but all he gets is static. “Guess we’re going to have to stay put until it clears, though. Can’t get through to the castle.” 

“Me neither.” Lance groans. 

They fall into silence, Keith tilts his head back and closes his eyes. Black thrums under his skin though he fails to understand what exactly it’s saying. Red rumbles in the back of his mind, trying to reassure him even though he’s sitting in another lion. It has the ghost of a smile on his lips. 

“Keith?” Lance calls out, a tinge of panic in his voice

“Yeah?”

“Fuck man, I can’t even see your barrier anymore.” Keith opens his eyes and all he sees is flat grey outside of the barrier. He can hear the soft sound of things falling against it before sliding off. 

“I can’t see you either.” He frowns.

“What do we do?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“But you’re still here, right?” Lance asks.

“Of course. I’m not going to leave you behind in the middle of a storm.” He tells him. 

“Right, okay.” Lance mumbles. Keith shivers and looks around the lion. It’s cold in here and he can’t tell if it's because of his suit failing or Black not generating the proper heating.

“Is Red keeping you warm?” He asks, concerned.

“Yeah, he is! It’s surprisingly toasty in here.” 

“Good.”

“You?”

“I think something might be wrong.” He glances around the cabin but wouldn’t even know where to begin troubleshooting the issue. He gets up to his feet and rubs his arms.

“What’s up?” Lance asks. 

“Black either wants me dead _or_ it can’t generate the heat that’s needed to keep me, y’know, _alive_.” 

“Jesus,” Lance whispers. Keith smacks his outgoing comlink off as the clarity comes back. _I put it there_. He can almost hear, hands on his shoulders, and encouraging his body to turn.

“Stop it!” He swats at the hands. “Why won’t you _go away_?” 

“Keith?” Lance sounds scared again. He turns his comlink back on.

“I’m still here.”

“Okay. It just cut out so suddenly.” He sighs with relief.

“I killed it, sorry.”

“Why?”

“...No reason.” He steps over to the place that was pointed out to him.

“Keith, come on. We’re a team remember?”

“I don’t want you to flip out.” He presses his hands against a panel on the wall. It beeps softly, sliding open and showing off a small twin mattress with a set of pillows and blankets.

“Why would I flip out?” 

“Hey, I found a bed on Black. Can you tell me if there’s one on Red?”

“Where?” He can hear Lance get up. He explains where he is in relation to the cabin and the pilot chair. 

“There should be a side panel and --”

“Got it!”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a bed here for sure, a little dusty but it’s here. Makes you wonder how there’s dust in a place like this.”

“Dusty?” He looks at the bed in his area. It looks rather clean if he’s being honest. 

“Yeah? Something like it at least. It at least smells a bit stale too.”

“Huh, weird.”

“Yours?”

“It’s kinda… clean?”

“...Think Shiro knew about it?” Lance asks after a moment. Everyone has been treading lightly around Keith when he gets brought up. He’s not sure if to be thankful or annoyed. 

“Maybe.” His hand skims across the blanket and bumps against the pillows. His stomach twists into painful knots as panic gnaws on his worn edges. 

“Keith?” Lance prompts when he’s been silent for too long

“I can’t do this again.” He closes his eyes as his shoulders sag.

“Do what?”

“Lose Shiro. I can’t do it again.” He can’t lose his family a third time. 

“...I have a stupid idea.”

“You have many, but please, continue.” Keith laughs dryly.

“Oh fuck you too, man.” Lance huffs a soft laugh of his own. “It’s only stupid because it’s dangerous.”

“Alright. I’m on board.” 

“You don’t even know what it is yet!”

“It’s dangerous, and that’s all I need to know.”

“Adrenaline junkie.” 

“Just tell me.” Keith rolls his eyes.

“Come over,” Lance says. “It’s a smaller cockpit, it’s warmer, plus I think Red misses you.” 

“And you wouldn’t be scared.”

“You said I’d flip out if I knew why you turned the comlink off. So, I’m guessing there’s something spooky over there and I don’t exactly want you getting, y’know, murdered.” 

“Fine. I’m coming over.” Keith grunts.

“Okay. I think Red is a good two hundred yards from Black, dead ahead.” Lance tells him. 

“And if they both sorta put their heads down?” He asks.

“Dude I dunno, I haven’t measured the lions.” 

“Well, guess I’ll run and hope for the best.” Keith hums.

“Just be safe please.” Lance whines. Keith looks at the bed again. He pulls the blankets off, bundling the pillows in them to make it easier to carry. He knocks something off the bed and he looks at it. A black book lays on the floor, a band securing it shut. He picks it up and tucks it into the bundle, between the pillows.

With that, he urges the Black Lion to lower its head and he takes a deep breath and holds it. He drops down from its mouth onto the ground. The area within the barrier is clear but on the other side of it is nothing but blank grey. It’s cold but the moment he ducks under the barrier it’s _freezing_ . He’s pelted by rain, hail, snow, he’s not sure, it’s just _cold._

He runs straight forward as best he can with his arms full. _Two hundred_ _yards_ , he reminds himself, but it feels so far. His lungs burn but his whole body feels like it’s getting bogged down. He feels infinitely heavier out in the weather, sluggish and dizzy. He doesn’t even see Red’s barrier but he apparently slips under it. 

It feels blistering hot, near painful and he nearly stumbles. Lance is standing in Red’s jaw and he’s quick to jump out and offer Keith a hand. The second Red’s jaw closes he releases the breath he’d been holding and takes in deep lungfuls of the air, shivering and teeth chattering. 

“Dude, you’re soaking wet.” Lance takes the bundle from him and sets it aside. Keith looks down at the puddle he’s created from just standing still. He can’t quite form words, too dangerous with how bad his jaw shakes. Lance immediately guides him to the cabin.

“Hot.” He gets out.

“No, it’s not,” Lance tells him. “It’s like, a notch or two above what it’d be in the castle right now honestly.”

“S-so hot.” 

“I think you’re just cold.” Lance frowns. 

“M-maybe.”

“...Your suit should have protected you from it.”

“It’s b-broken” Keith shows him the tears he has in the palms.

“Jesus. Okay, yeah, get out of that. Wet clothes only make you colder.” Lance starts unhooking the chest plate. Keith struggles with shaking fingers to help him, eventually getting him down to his underwear. Lance rummages around in the lion while Keith shivers in Red’s seat. 

Red purrs through his mind, filling him with warmth and memories of his days out in the desert. He can’t hear Black now. He jumps as Lance drops a blanket over him, much thicker than the one he brought from the Black Lion. He steps in front of him, making sure Keith is properly wrapped in it and rubs his arms and sides. 

“Wh-when did y-you get this?” He asks.

“From Aaxid. One of the locals gave it to me and I hadn’t gotten it out of Red yet.” Lance chuckles. 

“Thank g-god.” 

“It should do the trick of warming you up nicely.”

“Yeah.” He nods.

“You should have told me your suit was malfunctioning.” Lance shakes his head and grabs the bundle Keith brought. He pulls it open, the pillows are dry and so is the journal. One layer of the blankets is soaked through but not the second. Keith’s actually surprised at that. 

“Hey, what's this?” Lance asks, waving the journal around. 

“Dunno, f-found it.” He answers and Lance nods. He taps it and glances at Keith.

“Are you getting warmer?”

“S-sorta.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to help you more then.” He hums and hands Keith the journal. He watches as Lance pulls his armor off getting down to his skivvies as well and then he’s ushering Keith to the small bed they’d found. He hops on first and pats the space between his legs. Keith gets up with him and Lance adjusts the blanket so it’s wrapped around them both.

“ _Fuck_ you’re like an _icicle_.” He hisses when Keith leans against him. 

“You’re hot.” 

“Thanks, I know I am.” Lance chuckles, his chin settling on his shoulder and his arms snaking around his waist. “So let’s open that book and get some light reading in?” He suggests. Keith undoes the rubber band and opens it. 

He recognizes Shiro’s handwriting across the pages. He recognizes it in a handful of English words or letters. But a majority is written out in Japanese and it’s not something he’d ever learned to read. His fingers reach out and trace the hiragana forms with a frown. 

“So much for getting to read something scandalous.” Lance whines, just as lost as Keith is. “I only know ‘a’.” 

“I have questions.”

“I will give you no answers.” 

“Weeb.”

“Not _even_.” Lance rolls his eyes. Keith flips through the pages, looking for anything he could gain from it. He eventually lands on one that’s entirely in English. He reads it, over and over, and turns to Lance who’s studying it just as intently. 

“He… really didn’t think he’d make it through the fight against Zarkon.” Lance whispers. 

“I don’t want this.” His hands shake and he snaps the book shut. “I don’t want some goodbye letter. Feels like… like it’s…” His stomach churns. 

“Keith.” Lance takes the book from him, places the rubber band back in place around it.

“Why did he _have_ to address it to me? What made him think I’d want…” He runs his hands through his hair.

“So you wouldn’t blame yourself.”

“He’s not…”

“Keith.”

“He’s not _dead_ , he’s just _missing_.”

“Keith.”

“He _can’t_ be dead.”

“...Fine. He’s not dead. Let’s stop worrying about that for now then.” Lance shrugs and rubs Keith’s arms. He tips his head back, falling against his chest. 

“Sorry… I just--”

“It’s fine, man. I get it. I remember you decked James when they announced it at the Garrison.” Lance chuckles. “I wasn’t close enough to know if he had said something to you or not, but you just knocked him on his ass.”

“He was being a dick.”

“God when _wasn’t_ he?”

“I went to the same school as him before the Garrison, he’s always been a bitch.”

“Gross,” Lance groans. “Hunk and I had been in the same school. I was so psyched to have him be in the same class as me _and_ end up as my roommate.”

“Must’ve been really lucky.”

“Man, you were the lucky one. You have no idea how many people wanted to be you.”

“Why?”

“Dude, you got in because of Shiro’s word _alone_. If anyone tried to fuck with you, Shiro would be on them in a heartbeat.”

“I never asked him to.” 

“You didn’t _have_ to. That’s the thing. The guy would stand up to _Iverson_ for you, Keith.”

“Iverson was also a dick.”

“My _point_ is that people wanted to be you so they could hang out with Shiro.”

“Well being me kinda sucked.” He hums. “No mom, a dead dad, living in a million different houses but never a second home.” He shrugs.

“I get it.”

“Do you?”

“You realize I’m the middle child right? Marco and Luis are four years older than me, Veronica is two years older, and Raquel is a year younger than me.”

“So?”

“Marco is a brilliant engineer. Luis is an architect, Veronica got into the Garrison and is actually decorated officer. Raquel was dead-set on being a doctor. I’m not that great at math, I can’t design jack, blood makes me squeamish, and I can’t even beat my sister’s scores let alone _yours_.” Lance sighs. “I’m just… overlooked by everyone. Even in my own home.”

“You’re our sharpshooter, Lance. Paladin of Voltron, Savior of the Universe.” Keith twists in his arms to look at him.

“It’s not much.” Lance laughs.

“Are you kidding me? It’s _everything_.” He crosses his arms and goes back to how they were sitting before. "You help me focus, keep me from spinning out of control, and… you're one of the few people I'd trust with my life. No one else on the castle has that."

“Well, when you put it like that.” He hums and pulls Keith into his chest.

At some point, he stops feeling like the embodiment of Antarctica. His head falls back against Lance, eyes heavy. 

“Hey, Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“If I asked you to like, tell me about your family, would you?”

“Of course, _obviously_.” Lance snickers.

“Tell me about them.”

“Like what?”

“Anything.” He says. 

Lance hums and after a moment of silence and thought he begins. He tells Keith about his siblings, his parents, his niece and nephew. It’s warm and Keith finds it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. Somewhere between a tale about Lance’s nino Alvaro and his cousin Angel, Keith falls asleep.

When he wakes up, he’s laying down on the bed, but he’s still curled up in Lance’s arms. He watches Lance sleep for a few minutes before slipping out. Red hums in his mind encouraging him to go up to the cabin. The second he sits in the chair a video feed comes through. 

“Oh my god! There you --” Pidge pauses in their shout. “Keith?” They press their hands together and bring it to their mouth.

“Yes?”

“Why are you naked? In Lance’s Lion?” They point at him with their hands still pressed together.

“What?” And Keith looks down at himself.

“You know what, no. I don’t want to know actually.” Pidge sighs and the feed changes, allowing him to see the entire bridge.

“No wonder you weren’t responding in the Black Lion.” Hunk nods his head slowly while Allura presses her hand to her mouth.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Keith shouts, embarrassed.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Lance grumbles from the back. Keith looks over his shoulder and Lance comes over.

“You’re both naked.” Pidge groans.

“Gotta stay warm somehow,” Lance responds immediately draping himself over the back of the chair. “I take it the storm’s gone?”

“Yes. We were trying to see if you were in your lions since their barriers were up.” Allura starts.

“Hunk was five seconds away from starting a search party.” Pidge sighs. 

“No one was responding and there’s a _lot_ of snow on this planet.” Hunk whines.

“Keith and I will just finish up here and then we’ll head on back.” Lance tiredly salutes the team.

“Oh no, take your time. We’re in no rush.” Coran chuckles with a wave of his hand and ends the feed, cutting off Pidge’s complaint. Keith covers his red face and groans.

“They think we’re fucking.”

“Yep.” Lance stretches his arms above him and yawns. “That was a good as _fuck_ nap though.” 

“It… It was.” Keith looks away from him. 

“I'll finish the collection outside since your suit’s busted and then we can go home. Sounds good?” He asks, getting into his armor.

“Yeah. Just be careful.” 

“Promise.” Lance winks and heads down.

**Author's Note:**

> ITS STILL THE 16TH I HAVE LIKE 15 MINUTES LMAOOOOO
> 
> Feel free to drop me a line here or over at demon-sushi at Tumblr, I do my best to respond to every comment <3


End file.
